Forex Trading

The US Dollar advanced to start the trading week as US stock index futures slipped over 1% in overnight trading, suggesting risk aversion may be returning to financial markets. An uneventful calendar in European hours will likely see risk sentiment remain the principal driver for forex price action.

Key Overnight Developments

• US Dollar Rises as Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Slip Over 1%
• Euro, British Pound Follow Risky Assets Lower

Critical Levels



The Euro trended lower against the US Dollar, losing as much as -0.7%. The British Pound followed suit, shedding as much as -0.6% against the greenback. Technical positioning favors a bearish outlook on both EURUSD and GBPUSD.

Asia Session Highlights



With little of note on the economic calendar, markets fell back on risk sentiment as the principal driver for forex price action. Futures on the Dow Jones and S&P 500 stock indices slipped over 1%, suggesting investors are betting that Wall St. stocks will move lower to start the trading week. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index erased initial gains after Hong Kong stocks dropped over 2% in early trading as Financial Times reported that American Express Co. and Allianz SE will sell their stakes in ICBC, China’s biggest bank, for a combined $2 billion. Asian exchanges initially moved higher following Friday’s Wall St. rally on news that the US Federal Reserve’s stress tests revealed most banks are adequately capitalized.

The retreat in risky assets boosted US Dollar – an index of the greenback’s average value against six top global currencies gapped higher to start the week and rose as much as 0.5% ahead of the opening bell in Europe. The US Dollar has been seen as a safe-haven asset amid falling stock markets, showing a -84% inverse correlation with global stock performance (based on a 90-day rolling correlation study).

Euro Session: What to Expect



An uneventful economic calendar is likely to yield to risk sentiment as the principal driver for forex price action in European hours. If stock markets continue to slip into negative territory, the US Dollar is likely to extend gains against the spectrum of major currencies.

A brief scan of European data is set to reveal deepening recession – the Import Price Index is set to drop -6.5% in the year to March, the most in over a decade; meanwhile, the GfK Consumer Confidence Survey is expected to print at 2.3 in May, the lowest since February.

Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Analyst
Article Source - US Dollar Pushes Higher as Traders Bet on Wall St Weakness (Euro Open)